TRUMP SPOX: President-elect Donald Trump has named his White House communications team, a group that will likely have a very different strategy than previous administrations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Mr. Trump tapped Sean Spicer as press secretary, while communications aides Hope Hicks, Jason Miller and Daniel Scavino Jr. also were selected for key roles. Mr. Spicer previously served as communications director for the Republican National Committee, but in recent weeks he has served as a spokesman for Mr. Trump’s transition team. The incoming administration has already signaled it intends to shake up how the White House interacts with the press, Politico reports. Mr. Trump, for instance, hasn't held a traditional press conference since July, and he’s of course famous for controlling his own message via his Twitter account as opposed to relying on press aides. But Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to Mr. Trump, said that the press will have traditional access to the president, Huffington Post reports.

DIRECTV NO: AT&T has high hopes for its new DirecTV Now streaming-video service, one of the more high-profile pushes into internet video from a traditional media company. But as WSJ reports, the three-week-old service has gotten off to a rocky start. Widespread errors from crashes to problems loading video content are plaguing consumers. The error code, QP1502, has become a frequent hashtag on Twitter, and Google searches for the code spike in prime-time hours when people frequently watch their favorite shows (or try to, in this case). A company spokesman said the problems have affected a “limited amount of customers,” and that “with any new technology there are going to be fixes that need to be made.” The hiccups show some of the technological challenges of an internet TV service. AT&T spent a year negotiating the rights for DirecTV Now, and it hopes the service will be able to lure in young people and cord-cutters.

YEAR IN REVIEW: CMO Today rounded up some of the biggest stories of 2016, which proved to be a busy—and at times pretty surreal—year in media and advertising. There was, of course, the rise of Donald Trump and the then-candidate, now-president-elect’s fiery battle with the media. “Fake news” entered the media lexicon, as Facebook was forced to contend with its growing role in influencing public opinion. The Justice Department is probing the darker corners of the advertising world. Gawker Media was felled by a sex-tape lawsuit from Hulk Hogan, who was secretly backed by billionaire Peter Thiel. The family drama at Viacom spilled into the courtroom, too, while former Fox News chief Roger Ailes was ousted amid a sexual-harassment lawsuit. And in the media megamerger of the year, AT&T reached a surprise deal to acquire Time Warner Inc. for $85.4 billion. As for next year, the CMO Today team released our always cranky holiday wish list.

LOGO NO GO: It’s the stuff of chief marketing officer nightmares: patient, brand-hating consumers are removing stitched logos from the apparel they buy. As WSJ reports, some people these days scour online forums to learn how best to remove logos that they don’t want, like Lacoste crocodiles, Ralph Lauren ponies or the Ray-Ban logo on sunglasses. “Why would I do someone else’s advertising for free?” one crocodile-removing consumer told the Journal. While shoppers loved to flash brand names in the 1990s and 2000s, more recently consumers prefer clothing without labels, which has pushed some brands like Abercrombie & Fitch to tone down the logos. As for removing the stitching, it can be a tedious task that risks ruining a good new shirt. And what do the brands think of all this? “This isn’t a trend we’re seeing with Ray-Ban,” a spokesperson said. I guess that settles it.

The CMO Today newsletter is taking a break next week. We’ll be back on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Happy Holidays!

Elsewhere

The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group is acquiring music assets from SpinMedia, including Spin, Vibe and Stereogum. [WSJ]

A glitch in Twitter’s Android app inflated video advertising metrics by as much as 35%. The company has paid advertisers refunds for overbilling and fixed the technical error. [Business Insider]

Japanese ad agency Dentsu is trying to improve its work environment in the wake of an employee suicide that sparked a government probe. The company will switch off the lights at 10 p.m. and require employees to take time off. [WSJ]

French telecommunications group Altice has been on an M&A binge in the U.S., but the company is now shedding some assets in Europe. Altice is selling its Belgium and Luxembourg business to Telenet Group, the Belgian unit of John Malone’s Liberty Global. [WSJ]

It was another wild year in the world of ad tech. Digiday has a round up of the biggest winners and losers in 2016. [Digiday]

Franca Sozzani, the longtime editor of Italian Vogue and editorial director of Condé Nast Italy, died at age 66 after a yearlong illness. [NYT]

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The ongoing evolution of work is pressuring many organizations to adapt their traditional business models. Seven realities that emerged from a study conducted by Deloitte and Wikistrat are considered among the most important driving forces shaping the work-related future and may help provide a road map for organizations.

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